


umbrella

by orphan_account



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Unreliable Narrator, isnt that technically a spoiler?, sort of denial of feelings?, unbetad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:34:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26002729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “na jaemin was very very pretty, with a cute smile and sparkly eyes, and also very very popular. he was in a whole other league from mark, who preferred dungeons and dragons on friday nights with his little cousin and liked to write poetry about squirrels and grass and stuff. there was no way mark could land jaemin, he wasn’t sure how the older even considered the possibility of that.”-it’s a rainy day and donghyuck doesn't have an umbrella.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Minor Mark Lee/Na Jaemin - Relationship
Comments: 11
Kudos: 71





	umbrella

**Author's Note:**

> I made this in three hours, I wanted to get it down before the idea left me.
> 
> Honestly, the presence of Jaemin is very interchangeable with the others. He just happened to be the target of affection in this fic.

donghyuck wished he had checked the weather forecast before he left the house. he stepped back further into the school entrance, grateful he at least had shelter from the downpour of rain. of all days, today was the day the sky decided to cry. cry hard.

students all around him were opening their umbrellas and leaving, some in pairs and some alone, but he was left awkwardly teetering around the doors. a few feet away from his left stood na jaemin from class three, jeno’s childhood friend and mark’s new crush. he had been teasing the boy over it for a week now since mark hardly had crushes. the older boy was slow to love and the number of crushes he had were few and far in between. this was the complete opposite of donghyuck, who had a new boyfriend every few months and easily grew crushes on other people. it wouldn’t be that great of a stretch to say he maybe crushed on the majority of the male population back in middle school. the only one he kept out of that list was mark, they were best friends and he wasn’t willing to change that for anything.

knowing the older’s personality, donghyuck wouldn’t have suspected him to like anybody during his last year in school. but he did. he liked somebody. and that somebody was none other than na jaemin.

(“i know you like somebody.” donghyuck said offhandedly as mark went through his work. the older paused and looked up with horror, his cheeks turning red at an alarming rate.

he heard it first from jisung, who heard it from jeno, who heard it from renjun. the chinese foreign exchange student said mark’s recent behavior was a sign of a crush, like getting distracted more and suddenly going red in the middle of conversations. donghyuck dismissed the idea at first but then he found a page from mark’s journal full of love poems and cheesy nonsense about ‘forbidden feelings’ and an ‘impossible relationship’ with somebody. that was enough confirmation for him.

the older boy stammered through his next words before forcing out, “donghyuck, this doesn’t have to change—“

donghyuck quickly cut him off there, holding a hand up to signify him to stop. “no need for excuses about why you didn’t tell me. what i want to know is who.” that was the most curious part of the situation. mark paused, a tension of sorts leaving his shoulders.

“you don’t know who i like?” he asked, his voice strained. donghyuck shook his head and mark heaved a relieved sigh. “okay,” he nodded to himself, “okay, that’s good.”

no, not good. donghyuck scowled. “so who is it?” he pushed. mark looked at him carefully, hesitating to say the mysterious person’s name.

“well?” donghyuck urged, suddenly impatient. who was it? who stole the heart of mark lee, nerd extraordinaire? sweat formed at mark’s brow and his eyes flit around the room panic. when he realized donghyuck wasn’t going to drop the subject, mark took a deep breath and collected himself.

“you...” he finally mumbled, and a fire sparked at donghyuck’s stomach. him? mark liked him? he didn’t know what kind of face he was making but it seemed to put off mark, who quickly added on to his answer with a flustered frown. “...y-you know na jaemin?”)

na jaemin was very very pretty, with a cute smile and sparkly eyes, and also very very popular. he was in a whole other league from mark, who preferred dungeons and dragons on friday nights with his little cousin and liked to write poetry about squirrels and grass and stuff. there was no way mark could land jaemin, he wasn’t sure how the older even considered the possibility of that. it wasn’t as if he was going to tell him though, he didn’t want to break his heart or anything.

he was broken from his thoughts when somebody shoved him lightly, just enough for him to stumble forward. donghyuck turned around to quickly tell the person off but was met with the playful smile of mark lee who had two umbrellas in hand. “i knew you weren’t going to see the forecast, you never wake up early enough to the have the time to.” he said, holding the umbrellas up as if to show them off. in moments like this, donghyuck was grateful mark was his best friend and knew him well. 

“have i ever told you how much i cherish you, canada?” donghyuck playfully asked, giving him a brief hug. mark smelled like peppermints and axe body spray. a weird combination but one donghyuck was familiar with and found comfort in.

the older was about to respond but suddenly paused and looked farther to the left of donghyuck, where na jaemin was standing alone. a frown tugged at mark’s lips and he looked at the umbrellas, a contemplating look on his face. he was probably going to do something stupidly nice. like offer the spare to jaemin and share an umbrella with donghyuck instead.

“jaemin!” mark called. the popular boy looked away from the rain and turned to see who was calling over to him. when their eyes met, donghyuck could see it. like time was stopping and that everything in the universe was finally falling into place. (his brother always told him he had a knack for dramatics, but he swore that was what it looked like.) it was a weird feeling, almost as if he was intruding on something personal. the moment was over just as quick as it started and he was left pondering over what he just saw and why it made the blood in his veins prickle under his skin.

jaemin smiled and approached them, one hand tightly gripping the strap of his bag, and mark held an umbrella out. just as predicted. jaemin took it gingerly, taking note of the other one in his other hand, before nodding in thanks.

“i owe you another favor, i guess.” he joked. mark grinned and donghyuck was lost. he didn’t like feeling lost. it was like he was missing a big piece of a jigsaw puzzle and mark and jaemin were the only ones who had the entire thing finished. 

“what do you mean?” he asked, not one to keep his mouth shut. the other two glanced at each other before jaemin hummed. “i’m sure mark hyung will explain later.” he said kindly. the pretty boy hesitated then, before shyly holding up the umbrella.

“do you want to walk home together?” he asked, eyes peering up at the senior. donghyuck paused, eyes shifting from jaemin's face to mark's, and he pursed his lips together tightly. this was mark's chance, he realized.  if the older was ever going to have a chance with his crush this would be the best time to take it. and yet—and yet. it felt nasty, this boiling urge in his stomach that wanted to speak up and say ‘no, mark is walking home with me’ because that’s always what they’ve done. because that’s what mark has always done. choose him first, consider him first. surely mark would say no, he always—

mark passed the other umbrella in his hand over to donghyuck and nodded. “sure.” he said simply, taking the umbrella from jaemin’s hands and opening it. the two huddled together and donghyuck eyes unwittingly fixated on the way their shoulders stuck together.

“sorry, donghyuck. i’ll come by for dinner.” mark said apologetically. his eyes were big and genuinely guilt-ridden so donghyuck couldn’t even be mad at him. he could never be really mad at him, though, not for long anyway. he smiled reassuringly and slightly elbowed him, a—hopefully—teasing glint in his eyes. 

“i’ll see you later, hyung.” he said easily, keeping his tone light. mark and jaemin smiled at him before departing, side by side, together. donghyuck watched them go with no protest, twirling the umbrella in his hands absentmindedly.

maybe there was a reason the sky cried today.

( _mark was way out of donghyuck’s league. donghyuck, who had a new boyfriend every few months so that he wasn’t alone. donghyuck, who had crushes on everybody but his best friend because he couldn’t bear the thought of losing him. of losing mark, who was kind, and friendly, and patient. mark who played dungeons and dragons on friday nights because he didn’t want his baby cousin to be lonely, who wrote poems about the harmony of squirrels and the dewy morning grass on a brand new day._

_ there was no way donghyuck could land mark, why bother considering the possibility of it?) _

**Author's Note:**

> If it wasn’t obvious, Mark liking Jaemin is a cover up. Maybe I’ll extend the story some other day with Mark’s POV. Feel free to point out grammatical and spelling errors :)


End file.
